Alpha hit frequency due to radon decay products in human lung cells

Abstract. their own program in FORTRAN90. This was valid-Purpose: To calculate the hit probabilities by a-particles emitted ated against that of Marsh and Birchall (2000) by by radon progeny for basal and secretory cell nuclei in the comparing the sensitivity analysis results of di Ú erent epithelium of the human tracheobronchial tree. parameters using the same data.Materials and methods: The equilibrium activities on the surface of airway tubes were calculated using the ICRP66 model. The stopping-power and ranges of a-particles in tissue were adopted 2.1. Deposition modelfrom ICRU49. A semi-analytical method for determining the a-particle uence rate in tissue was applied. The distributions of The ICRP66 model calculated deposition of radonsecretory and basal cells throughout the tracheobronchial tree were as given by Mercer et al. (1991). progeny in the respiratory tract. The human respirat-Results: The probability to hit basal cell nuclei is three-to-four ory tract is treated as a series of ve lters (or times smaller than for secretory cell nuclei in the bronchial regions), each lowering the concentration of aerosolsregion (BB). However, the total number of traversed basal cell (and thus radon progeny) in the air passing through-nuclei is greater because of the larger volume abundance of out the lung: the extrathoracic (ET), bronchial (BB),basal cells in BB. The total number of secretory cell nuclei hi